A League

The A League is Australia’s top tier football league. The league is contested by teams from Sydney,

Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Newcastle and New Zealand.

Foundation

• The A league was established in 2005 as a successor to the NSL (National Soccer League)

• The league is currently overseen by the governing body Soccer Australia.

• The league began with 8 teams in its inaugural season • Adelaide United• Central Coast Mariners • Newcastle Jets• New Zealand Knights• Perth Glory• Queensland Roar• Sydney FC

Competition Format

• The A league season begins early October to early April the following year.

• The regular season consists of 27 rounds.• Each team will play 3 times • The wining team will be awarded 3 points and one point

for the draw.• The league is consisted of a points table with the top six

teams following the regular season will progress to the finals series.

• The final series is a culmination of the entire season. With the top 6 teams fighting it out for be crowned champions

• The series involves 3 weeks of knockout competition.

• Resulting in 2 finalist who competed in the grand final.

Finals series

Continental qualifications

• The Asian champions league is Asia's premier football club competition.

• Identical to Uefa champions league in Europe.• A league teams have an opportunity to qualify for the

tournament• The grand final champions of the A league will qualify for

the tournament and the runner up will have to play a play off against an oceanar team to gain entry to the tournament.

• The tournament plays a large part in the A league as it helps bring exposure to our league and help us build to compete on the world scale.

TeamsTeam Location Stadium Joined

Adelaide United Adelaide Coopers Stadium 2005

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Suncorp Stadium 2005

Central Coast Mariners

Gosford Bluetongue Stadium

2005

Melbourne Heart Melbourne AAMI Park 2010

Melbourne Victory Melbourne AAMI Park/Etihad Stadium

2005

Newcastle Jets Newcastle Hunter Stadium 2005

Perth Glory Perth NIB Stadium 2005

Sydney FC Sydney Allianz Stadium 2005

Wellington United Wellington Westpac Stadium 2007

Western Sydney Wanderers

Sydney Pirtek Stadium 2012

Rivalries

• The Big BlueContested by Sydney FC and Melbourne victoryLarges crowd: 50,333• Melbourne DerbyContested by Melbourne Heart and Melbourne VictoryLargest crowd: 42,032• Sydney Derby Contested by Sydney FC and Western Sydney WanderersLargest crowd: 40,388

Key Players• SHINJI ONO (Western Sydney Wanderers)Joined 2012Appearances: 51Goals: 10• Ante Čović (Western Sydney Wanderers)Joined 2012Appearances: 58Position: GK• Alessandro Del Piero (Sydney FC)Appearances: 48Goals: 24

More Information

• Visit the following:• www.Aleague.com.au• Socceraustralia.com.au • www.footballaustralia.com.au/aleague/